Nitnat Lake Winter fishing
- Thread starter 777
- Start date
uclueletcharters
Well-Known Member
Not sure about the winter I would imagine crabbing near the gap just inside the lake would be good. The springs are thick only for a few weeks at the end of summer before pushing through the lake to the rivers.
Thanks a bunch. My understanding is that it's brackish, and might not support salt water fish for a long period of time.
cheers,
777
uclueletcharters
Well-Known Member
Exactly, it's brackish so timing is everything when chasing salmon, it's while the salmon are on route to there spawning grounds that there passing through the bottle neck area which condenses them. On a calm day with next to no swell you could go out though the gap, but if your not used to current and potentially crashing waves I would stay clear. The bottle neck part of the opening is quite shallow with really shallow spots and there's current in there as well. Watch your tides if choose to go on the outside, if it's low slack and the tides coming up it's no problem but if there's swell and the tides going out there could be some nice waves but you can usually see them before committing, look for white walls. You could even follow the moon, further way from a full moon the less intense the tide changes are. What you don't want to happen is go out when the tides coming in and thinking it's no problem then after several hours of fishing the tides changed standing up the swells. If that happens just ride the backside of the wave until it lays down and cruise right on in, happened one time stayed out to long when the weather was picking up and at that time I was in a 16 Double Eagle we rode the backside of one of the waves in and right behind us was a crasher but so long as you maintain the same speed the wave won't catch you. Not a time you want any engine issues lol!
uclueletcharters
Well-Known Member
He's a video clip of going through the gap notice the tides running in and is pretty smooth cruising but if it was running out it would be way worse which it would have been later in the day. Just gives one an idea of all the rocks current etc. Don't know the person found it on you tube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjuTwMR8KMU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjuTwMR8KMU
Yuck. I'd seen that video before. Unless there's a life and death situation, I don't think I'll be running that bar in my 8 foot zodiac with 4 horse outboard, thank you very much.
Appreciate all the advice; I'll likely take my bigger boat to Barkley Sound this summer.
uclueletcharters
Well-Known Member
Good plan lol! I thought you may have had a 9.9 but a 4hp don't blame you. If you were to run from Ukee in late August right out front the fishings good be no problem for your 8 footer, plus the coho are shallow no riggers needed. The Lighthouse to Big Beach tac back and forth some nice Chinook in the mix too and very close to the harbor. Even Begg Island right along the deep drop is good at times and George Fraser Island front and back side. If we get that warm current this year which maybe the case the sound could be a pain to fish if the mackeral show up.
If you do come up Barclay Sound way / Ucluelet feel free to PM me for some up to date reports for whats going on where, depths, gear etc.
If you do come up Barclay Sound way / Ucluelet feel free to PM me for some up to date reports for whats going on where, depths, gear etc.
Last edited by a moderator:
Similar threads
